Spinning toy or display apparatus



Aprii 1952 P. H. JACOBS 2,592,286

SPINNING TOY OR DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1948 Patented Apr. 8, 1952 SPINNING TGYOR DISPLAY APPARATUS Pieter Hendrik Jacobs, Cape'Towm-Ca'pe Province, Union of South Africa Application February 28, 1948, Serial No. 11,960 In the Union oflSouth Africa February 9, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 18, "1946 Patentexpires February 9, #1964 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an improved toy or display apparatus which is capable of being used for purposes of amusement, .or as means to attract the attention of the public for advertising and other purposes.

According to the invention, the device consists of a 'varicoloured rotating element in the :form of a sphere or disc mounted forsimultaneous rotation about primary and secondary axes arranged at right angles to one another, the arrangement 'beingsu'ch thatch-rotation, the varicoloured por tions of said rotating element, will give the appearance of several differently coloured bands of colour which are oontinually changing. Preferably, what will be called the primary motion about the primary axis is rapid, while the corresponding rotational movementrabout the secondary axis-called the secondary motion,:is relativelyslow.

According to one form of construction of the invention, the varico'loured rotating element is mounted for .rotation about its secondary axis withina ring frame, which frame isitself mounted -for rotation on trunnion shafts, spindles or pins about an axis atright-angles to saidsecondary axis, which ring frame axis constitutes the primary axis of rotation of the element; Rotational motion is imparted to the ring frame in any suitable manner, :such as by an airscrew adapted to be driven by arranging for a current of air to impinge thereagainst. To impart rotational motion :to the varicoloured element about its secondary axis, a preferred method is to provide a frictionorgear member, extending inwardly, axially in line with the primary axis, which member is arranged to make frictional or meshing contact with a/friction or gear ring as the case may be, attached to the element so that the axis of said friction or gear ring coincides with the aforesaid secondary axis of the element. More particularly the said friction or gear ring is "bevelled for co-acting engagement with the said friction orgear member as the case may be, which member is likewise bevelled to engage therewith, and keyed to a stationary shaft which extends through one end bearing of the .r'ing frame which may 'be arranged to rotate thereon. In this case the stationary shaft constitutes a trunnion.

. 'From this arrangement it will be understood that as "the ring frame carrying "the varicoloured element is rotated about the primary axis, the said 'irl'c'tion or'gear ring rotates "in contact with the friction or .gear member and thereby the ele- .ment cause'd'to rotate simultaneousl about its secondaryaxi's.

In the :preferred construction, the said varicoloured element in the form of a sphere is marked with differently coloured sections or bands. Byarranging suitable colours for the sections variety of pleasing and eiiective coloured efifects can besecured. By suitable arrangement of primary colours, the rotation of the element will blend these to give the .secondary colours. It will be understood that the rotating element may be a disc instead of a sphere, although the disc does not give such eflective results .as the sphere. To enhance the efiect, the sphere maybe hollow and a light may be arranged therein to show up the colours through the wall of the sphere which may -be-of translucent/material. By this arrangement the device becomes a very effective means for attracting attention 'to window displays, since as the sphere rotates various coloured beams of light will be thrown on .to the articles displayed in the window.

Arrangementsmay, of course, bemade to cause rotation of the ring frame carrying the v'ar'icdloured element about what has been termed'the primary axis, by the use of an electric motor or other convenient .power transmitting means.

When the device is used as a toy, rotational movement about the primary axis is conveniently eflected by means of an airscrew or propeller, whereby the device will operate when it iisheld with the airscrew facing in the direction from which .the wind is "blowing. In "this construction the ring frame is mounted "between the arms :of a Iorked supporting or carrying member 'b'y'wfhich thed'evioe 'iscarri'e'dor erected.

The airs'crew is preferably of very light construction and "provided with slightly flexible blades so that the blades can bend backwards'to expose a smaller area to the current driving the airscrew,"shou1dthe current become too strong. 'Theratio offiexibility to lightness of the blades should be such that said blades will bend under the force of the current :against the centrifugal 'force of the -rotating blades. By means of "this provision the speed of rotation oithe varicoloured spherical element controlled to be relatively stable, which is desirable to produce the desired appearance.

To enable the invention to "be more clearly un-. derstood and carried into practice, reference is now 'made "to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference "numerals denote like 'parts throughout -the several :views.

In the drawings Fig. Us a side 'eleva'tion'of a device constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view taken on Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a shortened front view taken on Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a. fragmentary side sectional view of the rear bearing of the ring frame;

Fig. 5 is a side fragmentary view of a ratchet mechanism for imparting rotary motion to the ring frame;

Fig. 6 is an end view taken on Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional view through a modified form of device constructed according to the invention, which is suitable for use as an 11- luminated display apparatus;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the driving gear of the modification shown in Fig. '7; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation showing the rear bearing mounting of the device of Figs. 1 to 3, as well as a modified method of marking the rotating element.

Referring to the drawings, reference I denotes a varicoloured spherical element mounted on bearing pins 2 within the ring frame 3 for rotation about its aforementioned secondary axis, which passes through the pins 2. The ring frame 3 is mounted for rotation between the arms 4 and 5 of a supporting or carrying member provided with a handle 6. The front end of the ring frame 3 has fixed to it the trunnion spindle l which, after projecting through a bearing in the arm 4, has keyed to its outwardly projecting end, the airscrew or propeller 8. The rear end of said ring frame 3 is rotatably mounted on the trunnion pin 9, the rear end of which is fixed to the arm 5, such as by being flattened as shown in Fig. 4, and being inserted in a slot therein. The front end of the trunnion pin 9 has a small bevelled friction member II keyed to it, which member co-acts frictionally with the bevelled friction ring [2 fixed to and encircling the spherical element I. It will be understood that the pressure of the air current driving the airscrew 8, will tend to press the friction ring l2 into contact with the friction member I I, whereby slow rotary motion will be imparted to the element l to cause it to revolve about its bearing pins 2 simultaneously with its rotation about its primary axis passing through the trunnion spindle 1 and trunnion pin 9.

According to a modified method of operating the device (see Figs. and 6), a ratchet pinion I3 is substituted for the airscrew 8, which ratchet pinion I3 is adapted to be rotated by the co-acting toothed rack 14 formed on the top end portion of a ratchet rod I5 located slidably in guide lugs l8 and I1, and normally held in its inoperative position by the light tension spring [8. To accommodate the bottom guide lug l'l, the arm 4a I is extended downwardly by the member 20, and

is joined to the handle 6 by a cross member [9.

.The hole in the lug I8 through which the ratchet rod I5 passes, is slotted so that normally the spring It; tends to hold the upper end of rod [5 away from arm 4a so that the rack I4 is just out of contact with the ratchet pinion l3. When, however, the said rod I5 is operated by thumb pressure on the cup-shaped end 2i in an upward and outward direction, the rack l4 engages with the ratchet pinion l3 to cause rotation thereof, while on release of such pressure, the spring [8 acts to pull the upper end of the rod l5 outwardly and downwardly whereby during its downward stroke the rack 14 is disengaged from the ratchet pinion [3, which together with the ring frame 3, is free to rotate under the influence of the previously applied impulse. It will accordingly be understood that the device is operated by a series of strokes. The rod I5 is loosely slidable in the lower lug I1, so that it is capable of being canted to a sufiicient extent to disengage the rack [4 as described above. To keep the friction ring I2 in frictional contact with the pinion ll, an inverted U-shaped fiat spring 22 is secured to the top of the arm 4a, so that its outer limb presses resiliently against the outer or front end of the trunnion spindle I.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the element I in the form of a sphere of celluloid or the like, is divided into three equal differently coloured segments by the lines 23. In Fig. 9 the three coloured segments are divided by the zig-zag lines 24.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a further modification of the invention suitable for use as a display apparatus for shop windows and the like. In this case the rotating element is in the form of a hollow sphere having its walls'made of thin translucent material and arranged in two substantially hemispherical-shaped sectors 30 and 3|, each fixed to an internal shaft 32, the axes of which shafts are in line diametrically and constitute the secondary axis of the rotating element. The shafts 32 are journalled in bearings provided in the carrier frame 33, which is provided with a downwardly extending hollow vertical extension 36 journalled in the bearing 34 in a base 37, and adapted to be rotated by the grooved pulley 35 from any convenient source of power, such as a small electric motor. It will be understood that the axis of the extension 38 constitutes the aforementioned primary axis of the rotating element. Located concentrically within the extension 36 is a stationary hollow shaft 38, the bottom end of which is screwed into the base 31. The top end of the shaft 38 has a worm pinion 39 keyed to it and carries an electric light globe 40. Meshing with the worm pinion 39 are the two worm wheels 4| which have the bevel wheels 42 formed integrally therewith, or fixed thereto. These bevel wheels 42 mesh with the bevel wheels 43, which are keyed to the ends of the shafts 32. Additional globes 44 and 45 are attached to the carrier frame 33. The current conductors 46 supplying current to the globes 40,44 and 45 are arranged to pass up the bore of the stationary shaft 38.

As illustrated, the two hemispherical sectors 38 and 3| are arranged to rotate at equal speeds, although they may be arranged to rotate at different speeds by varying the numbers of teeth of the bevel wheels 42 and 43. Alternatively, only one of said hemispherical sectors may be driven.

What I claim is:

1. In a display device, the combination of a base having a journal and a socket therein; a trunnion mounted in said socket; a frame rotatably mounted in said journal and on said trunnion; means for rotating said frame; a body rotatably mounted in said frame, the axis of rotation of said body being normal to the axis co-axial trunnions normal to said co-axial shaft and trunnion; a body rotatably mounted on said frame trunnions; a friction ring on said body; and a friction member fixed on said trunnion in said socket, and frictionally engaging said ring.

3. In a display device, the combination of a bifurcated support having a socket and a journal in its legs, respectively, said socket and said journal being co-axial; a shaft rotatable in said journal; means for rotating said shaft; a trunnion fixedly mounted in said socket; a frame fixed on said shaft and journaled on said trunnion, and having a pair of co-axial trunnions normal to said co-axial socket and support journal; a spherical body rotatably mounted on said frame trunnions; a peripheral friction ring on said body; and a friction member fixed on said trunnion in said socket, and frictionally engaging said ring.

PIETER HENDRIK JACOBS.

REFERENCES crrnin The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,077,340 Graham Nov. 4, 1913 1,181,620 Soderberg May 2, 1916 1,604,684 Evans Oct. 26, 1926 1,639,526 Mayer Aug. 16, 1927 1,682,164 Berry et-al. Aug. 28, 1928 2,051,748 Savage Aug. 18, 1936 2,332,845 Ducarpe Oct. 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 587,708 Great Britain May 2, 1947 

